READING THRU THE
OLD TESTAMENT?
(Recent Posts)
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Made in Elements
(Recent Posts)
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Remember that the real value (blessing) of the Bible comes primarily through reading and pondering the Bible text itself, not what someone else has written or said about it.
The First “Covenant?” - Feb 1, 2026
Genesis 2:16,17 And the LORD God commanded the man saying, "you must surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die
Read the context: Genesis 2
Ponder:
? If a binding contract is called a "Covenant" in the Bible, how could these verses be called the first "covenant" in the Bible?
? Who are the parties involved in this covenant?
? What are the issues in this covenant?
? How did the results of this covenant work out over the next few chapters?
? How did this covenant illustrate other covenants in the Bible?
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Read and Ponder Genesis 5 - January 25, 2026
Chapter and section headings:
5: Adam's Descendants to Noah
Genesis five demonstrates that the things the Serpent said in chapter three were all lies and counterfeit. While the people described in Genesis 5 might have felt they would not die, they did. The God-like life the Devil promised was counterfeit according to God’s description of the spiritually dead people who followed Adam and Eve. God says in Gen 6:5: …”the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The Bible, from the beginning, demonstrates that people are not basically good, but basically evil, and this sin is from what we need God to rescue us.
Ponder:
? Some people believe that "the fall" of Adam and Eve was not so bad. All they did was eat some fruit of a forbidden tree. Many people believe that we are all basically good. What do these early chapters of Genesis say?
? Living hundreds of years, how many people do you think were on the earth at the end of Genesis 5? (you can google the question and see some estimates)
? If people were basically good, what could we assume the environment on earth would be at the end of Genesis 5?
? Do you imagine God was angry or heartbroken? (Remember when Jesus "wept" over Jerusalem)
? What are some questions you would like to ask Methuselah and how do you imagine he might answer? (He might have known Adam and Eve)
? What are some other questions you have regarding Genesis 5?~~~~~~~
Read and Ponder Genesis 3-4 - Jan 18, 2026
Chapter and section headings:
3: The Fall
4: Cain and Abel
There are three fundamental life-altering choices revealed in the Garden of Eden. The Devil chose to tempt Adam and Eve to follow him in defiance to God. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. And God chose to judge the Devil and both judge and rescue Adam and Eve. Their choices impact every person who has ever lived as we each decide how we respond to God.
Ponder:
? Is there any indication that God considered the choices of the Devil and Adam and Eve to be anything other than bad?
? In what ways does the word "death" accurately characterize what happened in the choices of Adam and Eve?
? If Adam and Eve were created "in the image of God," why was it tempting to be "like God, knowing good and evil?"
? What does the forbidden fruit appearing "good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise," reveal about sin?
? It seems amazing and baffling that Adam and Eve would disobey the God they knew. But how much more amazing is it that God would demonstrate His intention to judge and forgive Adam and Eve and their offspring?
? How do these chapters set the pattern for the rest of the Bible and of all human history?
? Why can't just choosing to obey God solve the death consequences of our sin?
? How is Jesus Christ described in Genesis 3?
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Listen to "My Lord I Did Not Choose You"
Watch a Bible Project video: Genesis 1-11
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Read and Ponder Genesis 1-2 - Jan 11, 2026
Chapter and section headings:
1: The Creation of the World
2: The Seventh Day, God Rests
... The Creation of Man and Woman
Ponder:
1. What non-human characteristics are used to describe God? i.e.: existing "in the beginning."
2. Would God have called creation "good," and Adam "very good" if all he created was merely the matter and potential process of evolution?
3. Some people believe that "in the image of God" means that humans are exact clones of God, or that God is like us physically and spiritually, just progressed beyond us. What is in these chapters to support or oppose that idea?
4. Some people believe that God "organized" or "evolved" rather than created the universe? What in these two chapters supports or opposes this idea?
5. Why does God refer to Himself as "us," and "our" in Genesis 1:26
6. What does looking at the universe through a telescope, or at a human cell through a microscope prompt us to think about God and His Creations?
7.On what basis might people believe other ideas about the origins of the universe, the earth and the people who live here? What legitimately makes those ideas more or less credible than the Genesis account in the Bible?
8. Is there anything in these chapters that suggest Jesus was a physical (flesh and blood) being before He was born a human baby in Bethlehem?
Watch a Bible Project video about "The Old Testament"
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Content by J Neil Evans
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